Natalie Scott
Victorine or Naked Woman in Manet's Le Dejeuner sur L'Herbe
It was cool in the shade
but he wanted me naked
as the day I was born, slap
bang in the centre, like a dazzling
white beacon warning off all those afraid
of new ideas.
I’ll admit I was a little uncomfortable
at first, with a breeze blowing goose pimples
over my bare limbs and pins and needles
to boot.
Oh, and did I mention I was starving?
So much for a picnic – the food had to be left
where it was, sprawled on the grass; I could smell
the cherries over-ripening and the bread going stale.
Being sans clothes didn’t bother me
any more than usual; I spend a lot of time like this
in front of men, who screen their own bodies
from my curiosity.
The men sweated and talked politics.
I often felt their guilty eyes burning my skin.
I would laugh inside,
as their serious gossip wavered
like candle light drowning in its own wax,
and try to guess which one of them would be first
to awkwardly adjust his trousers.
They were as restricted by clothing
as I was by nakedness,
but I am the one who shines
when you view the scene
from a distance.
After the painting
was finished
I made them dress me
then
I made them buy me dinner.
but he wanted me naked
as the day I was born, slap
bang in the centre, like a dazzling
white beacon warning off all those afraid
of new ideas.
I’ll admit I was a little uncomfortable
at first, with a breeze blowing goose pimples
over my bare limbs and pins and needles
to boot.
Oh, and did I mention I was starving?
So much for a picnic – the food had to be left
where it was, sprawled on the grass; I could smell
the cherries over-ripening and the bread going stale.
Being sans clothes didn’t bother me
any more than usual; I spend a lot of time like this
in front of men, who screen their own bodies
from my curiosity.
The men sweated and talked politics.
I often felt their guilty eyes burning my skin.
I would laugh inside,
as their serious gossip wavered
like candle light drowning in its own wax,
and try to guess which one of them would be first
to awkwardly adjust his trousers.
They were as restricted by clothing
as I was by nakedness,
but I am the one who shines
when you view the scene
from a distance.
After the painting
was finished
I made them dress me
then
I made them buy me dinner.
Page(s) 24
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